There’s a sure attract to a gifted footballer from England, given it is dwelling to the world’s first match and largely thought-about the birthplace of the sport.
Attract and soccer predictably combine into a powerful cash-flavoured cocktail, so it gained’t shock you to study that a few of the most costly footballers in historical past grew up on these shores.
However who tops the record of the costliest English participant of all time? Hold scrolling, there are some eye-watering sums forward…
Who’s the costliest English participant of all time?
It’s a tie! Each Declan Rice and Jack Grealish arrived at Arsenal and Manchester Metropolis respectively for base charges of £100million.
Rice – ranked second in FourFourTwo’s record of one of the best defensive midfielders proper now – doubtlessly takes the crown on aim distinction as his 2023 deal included £5million in unspecified add-ons, however what’s a couple of million quid between pals?
Both means, you might be certain it’s a sore level for any Republic of Eire followers, as each males turned out for the Boys in Inexperienced of their youth earlier than switching allegiances again to their nation of beginning – what a coup that might have been.
Who held the all-time report switch price for an English participant earlier than Rice and Grealish?
Earlier to Grealish placing pen to paper in 2021, the costliest English participant was Harry Maguire due to his £80million transfer from Leicester Metropolis to Manchester United in 2019 – nonetheless a world record for a central defender.
There could also be some query marks over the price, provided that Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk went for £5million cheaper a yr earlier, however there’s no doubting Maguire has delivered England and the Purple Devils some unimaginable moments within the intervening years.
Notable mentions go to Harry Kane – ranked seventh in FourFourTwo’s record of one of the best Premier League strikers of all time – and Jude Bellingham, who headed to heavy-hitters Bayern Munich and Actual Madrid, respectively, in the summertime of 2023, however neither troubled Grealish nor Rice’s preliminary charges.
Nevertheless, Bellingham – at the moment a ten/1 shot to raise the 2025 Ballon d’Or – may wind up being the costliest when the mud settles, with Los Blancos’ preliminary outlay of £88.5million potentially rising as high as £115million with add-ons. They’d should be some fairly outlandish clauses for him to not be in with a shout of hitting them.
| Rank | Value | Participant | From | To | Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £100m | Declan Rice | West Ham United | Arsenal | 2023 |
| 2 | £100m | Jack Grealish | Aston Villa | Manchester Metropolis | 2021 |
| 3 | £88.5m | Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund | Actual Madrid | 2023 |
| 4 | £86.4m | Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | Bayern Munich | 2023 |
| 5 | £80m | Harry Maguire | Leicester Metropolis | Manchester United | 2019 |
| 6 | £73m | Jadon Sancho | Borussia Dortmund | Manchester United | 2021 |
| 7 | £65m | Dominic Solanke | Bournemouth | Tottenham Hotspur | 2024 |
| 8 | £60m | Mason Mount | Chelsea | Manchester United | 2023 |
| 9 | £50m | Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Crystal Palace | Manchester United | 2019 |
| 10 | £50m | Ben White | Brighton & Hove Albion | Arsenal | 2021 |